In the area of medicine, modern surgical techniques have been developed for diagnosing and correcting damage to the interior structure of body parts, e.g., bone joints. One of these modern surgical techniques is arthroscopy, which can be used for examining the interior structure of a body joint, for example, a knee, in order to determine the extent of any damage to the joint. In other words, arthroscopy permits viewing the internal structure of a body joint without requiring conventional surgery on the joint. If required, relatively non-invasive corrective surgery can be performed in conjunction with arthroscopic examination techniques to repair joint damage which is discovered during the examination.
Arthroscopic examination typically involves inserting a probe into the joint to be examined. The probe has an imaging device attached to it, and the imaging device is in turn connected through the probe to a video display for generating a picture of the interior structure of the joint. Consequently, the operator of the arthroscope is able to view, real-time, the interior structure of the joint as the probe is inserted into the joint. By viewing the internal structure of the joint, a diagnosis of any damage to the joint can be made and appropriate treatment prescribed.
It is the case that existing arthroscopes require support equipment which is relatively large and bulky and which is typically permanently installed for use in an operating room. Consequently, these arthroscopes cannot be easily moved from one location to another, as may occasionally be required in a medical establishment. Furthermore, arthroscopes which require sizable support equipment are ordinarily expensive devices, and their relatively high cost can make arthroscopic examination cost prohibitive for some patients. The present invention recognizes that an arthroscope need not require large and expensive support equipment and that there is a need to provide an arthroscope which can be used in a Doctor's office for diagnosis of a joint injury. Further, there is a recognized need to provide an arthroscope with a sufficiently small disposable probe so that only a local anesthetic is necessary.
Additionally, the probes of existing arthroscopes are typically reusable devices and must accordingly be sterilized before each use, in order to eliminate the possibility of infecting the arthroscopy patient with a contaminated probe. Unfortunately, the possibility remains that a reusable probe may not be effectively sterilized and can accordingly remain septic, or that a properly sterilized probe could become septic in the time period between sterilization and use of the probe. The present invention recognizes that an arthroscope can be provided which uses a non-reusable probe to substantially reduce the likelihood of transmitting infections.
In addition to the above considerations, it is also desirable for the arthroscope to have a relatively wide field of view when the probe of the arthroscope is positioned within the joint. This is in order to maximize the size of the internal body area which the arthroscope operator can examine. Providing a wide field of view simply by enlarging the lens of the arthroscope, however, would be counterproductive since the introduction of a larger lens would require a larger entry site into the knee. A larger entry site, however, is to be avoided. Accordingly, it is desirable that the arthroscope be capable of viewing a relatively large area within a joint, without requiring the use of a comparatively large arthroscope lens.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an arthroscope which is portable and hand-held. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arthroscope which has a disposable probe that is insertable into a body joint for generating a real-time picture of the joint. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an arthroscope which can view a relatively large portion of the internal structure of a joint. Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an arthroscope which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and comparatively easy and cost-effective to use.